Today’s 3-pointers (and state tourney picks)

COLLEGE EDITION1. It’s amazing how much better Seton Hall plays when John Garcia is a part of the offense. The big man posted 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting Saturday night in the Pirates’ must-win squeaker over DePaul. Now there’s no reason why the Hall can’t win three of its final four games, which will result in a decent draw in the Big East Tournament and lock up a spot in the NIT. Syracuse at home will be a big challenge, but the game is sold out so the atmosphere should boost the Pirates’ chances.

2. It’s been a forgone conclusion for a while, but Rutgers was officially eliminated from Big East Tournament contention Saturday. From a Scarlet Knights perspective, the only interesting thing about the next few weeks is the fate of mega-recruit Devin Ebanks. If Ebanks does decide to de-commit from Indiana, good sources tell us Miami and Rutgers are at the top of the waiting list, in that order (but not by much). Stay tuned.

3. After Saturday’s upset of Connecticut, Villanova has a chance to play its way into the NCAA Tournament. If the Wildcats go 3-1 against Marquette, Louisville, South Florida and Providence and pick up a win in the Big East Tournament, they will merit serious consideration on Selection Sunday. Jersey guy Corey Stokes is starting to play lights-out for Nova.

HIGH SCHOOL EDITION

1. Watchung Hills senior Kyle Rawson played his way into the Player of the Year discussion with his 27 points and six rebounds in yesterday’s Somerset County Tournament final. Ridge could only gain a foothold when he was on the bench with foul trouble.A few more thoughts on this game: Love the energy of Ridge coach Mark Taylor, who was exhorting the Red Devils’ student section before tip-off . . . it was a bold, borderline cocky move by the War Zone to do the scoreboard chant with 13 seconds left and Ridge down six with the ball—I’ve seen crazier comebacks . . . nobody in the county does more effective dirtywork that Watchung forward Justin Matisak . . . Gene McAteer wins best-dressed coach of the tournament—-Hillsborough’s Ian Progin’s would have contended if his team played one more round . . . please, please, please no more games with three officials—-you play the whole year with two, so stick with two, because the whistle blows way too much when there are three guys out there.Here is our SCT All-Tournament team: Rawson, Watchung Hills senior forward Justin Matisak, Watchung Hills junior guard Jesse Ross, Ridge sophomore guard Andrew Madlinger and Immaculata senior forward Jeff Cullinan.

3. Hoops Haven went out on a limb for Linden and took one on the chin as the St. Pat’s All-Stars prevailed by 11 in the Union County Tournament final. But that just reinforces our belief that the Tigers, hungry for a trophy, will win North 2 Group IV.

HOOPS HAVEN’S SECTIONAL PREDICTIONS

North 2 Group IVFinal: Linden over Watchung HillsWhy: It’s a rare year when Linden doesn’t get a trophy.

North 2 Group IIIFinal: Rahway over Scotch PlainsWhy: Union County rules, and this happened once already.

North 2 Group IIFinal: Chatham over BernardsWhy: Chatham has a 6-8 guy going to Penn State, Bernards doesn’t.

North 2 Group IFinal: Science Park over Bloomfield TechWhy: It’s Science’s turn in the Tech/Magnet sweepstakes.

Central Group IVFinal: Trenton over Rancocas ValleyWhy: Not sure, but these are clearly the two best teams.

Central Group IIIFinal: Neptune over MonmouthWhy: Neptune is relentless on the boards.

Central Group IIFinal: Weequahic over RoselleWhy: A guess. This bracket is up for grabs.

Central Group IFinal: Asbury Park over Academy CharterWhy: The Bishops played Neptune even for a half.

Non-Public A NorthFinal: Seton Hall Prep over Don Bosco PrepWhy: Bob Farrell has a way of winning these things

Non-Public B NorthFinal: St. Anthony over St. PatrickWhy: This might be the second-best St. Anthony team ever, after the legendary 1989 edition.

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About Jerry Carino

Jerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.

14 Responses to Today’s 3-pointers (and state tourney picks)

From the recent Gonzo/player quotes and articles, it seems as if the team would be happy to win just one more game and secure a Big East tourney invite. Am I offbase here? Reason I ask is because I feel the Hall has a real good chance of winning 3 of their last 4 games, if not all 4, and finishing 9-9 or 10-8 in the conference. The could, theoretically, get them as high as a 6 seed in the BE tourney depending on what some of the teams ahead of them (WV, Cincy, Pitt, Nova, Cuse) do in their last 3 or 4 games. All 5 of those teams have tough remaining regular season schedules (Hall might have the easiest w/ USF, StJ, Cuse, RU) and it’s definitely not out of the question that the Hall land a higher seed (6/7/8) if they finish strong. What are your thoughts on this? With you being around the team, is this something that Gonzo is driving home/striving for?

It’s not very realistic that the teams ahead of them collapse and they get a six or seven seed. They don’t have the tiebreaker against WV, Pitt and Nova and may or may not get it against the Cuse.

Being around Gonzo, I think he thinks he’s going to win every game and get every recruit. But he’s also smart enought to publicly temper expectations, which got way too high during the five-game winning streak.

If you were a coach, wouldn’t you try to temper expectations? The opposite is setting yourself up for a fall, especially when your team has flaws.

As for the players, they’re human and I’m sure they look at the schedule and see the potential for a winning streak. But after losing five straight it probably feels like you’re never going to win one, so there likely was more relief than anything else last night.

As I said in the paper Saturday, it’s the same Piscataway team as last year, and Watchung beat them in the first round. That game was at home and this one’s on the road, but Piscataway has no real home-court advantage.

Yes I’ve seen Piscataway, twice by the way.

Watchung Hills also beat Union earlier this season.

Admittedly I don’t know much about Columbia. You may be right about them.

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About this Blog

Since its launch in 2006, Hoops Haven has become a staple of the New Jersey basketball community. This is the place to find breaking news, analysis and links about college and high school basketball in the Garden State.

About the Author

Jerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.Email Jerry.